Shock News: Lance Armstrong Admits Doping to Oprah

Yep, Lance was a doper. Which I could actually forgive (even though the seeking-Oprah’s-benediction thing is totally transparent), because the fact is the whole sport does it.

But Armstrong went out of his way to smear and try to destroy people who told the truth about him, and even won several large court judgments that we now know were obtained through fraud.

Some of those people are now suing him to get those judgments back. Floyd Landis has filed a federal whistle-blower suit against Armstrong for defrauding the US Post Office. His life has become … complex.

He’ll still come out of this with a lot of money, but nobody will ever forget the things he did to try to protect his kingdom of lies.

It’s also still a fact that he was an amazing cyclist, drugs or not. In a sport where — let’s face it — all the top athletes were doing everything they could to get a slight edge, Lance had much, much more than an edge.

On his best days, he dominated the field in a way very few cyclists ever have; the epic battles with Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich, the time trials where he absolutely blew away the competition, the insane climbs in the Alps when he would get up on the pedals and dance, and just rocket away from the lead group like a cycling god.

But athletic talent and human decency don’t always correlate, and Lance Armstrong may be the prime example.

I can’t help wondering, though, if Sheryl Crow knew he was hitting the EPO.

Meanwhile, Armstrong is in talks to return a portion of the millions of dollars in taxpayer money his former team, U.S. Postal Service, once received, CBS News has learned.

Senior Justice Department officials have recommended that the government join a lawsuit filed by one of Armstrong’s former teammates that accuses the disgraced cyclist of defrauding the federal government. Armstrong’s U.S. Postal sponsorship prohibited illegal doping.

Lance may have had a lot of natural talent and force of will, but this will eventually end badly (well, worse than it already is) for Armstrong, I’m afraid; it wouldn’t surprise me if the DOJ doesn’t eventually decide to put criminal charges (fraud, conspiracy to defraud, violations of the RICO Act, etc.) on him and other members of the USPS teams Lance led. However, someone more versed in the law than I am will have to pontificate on that; but here’s something everyone should know by now:

I think that’s gonna be the least of Lance’s worries, because once the DOJ gets its hooks into him over returning taxpayer money, there’s gonna be a US Attorney (or Attorneys) that are gonna want to make their names by putting him in the dock on criminal charges related to his fraud.

I wonder if the statute of limitations on some of that stuff is still good…

It’s pretty clear that Armstrong would never have admitted to doping if he didn’t have a really strong incentive to get ahead of something worse.

This is going to be much more difficult than beating Jan Ullrich up the Alpe d’Huez.

Yeah, the prospect of living behind bars until he’s either old and gray or dead.

Once the DOJ starts on him, I get the feeling that his days as a free man will be limited, because in committing fraud (by doping) in taking taxpayer money for the USPS’ sponsorship of his teams, he broke a very serious rule: don’t fuck with the federal government.

I’m not that surprised. The second I heard he’d booked himself on Oprah, I knew what he was going to say. There’s a documentary out there called “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” that gets into this in depth and shows just how nebulous the line is between legal and illegal when it comes to PED’s.

I look at the cycling and Lance and am reminded of baseball and steroids. Anyone with half a brain knew something was up, but the homes runs! The TV Ratings! The Stars and Stripes! The denial was strong and concerted as they both were Golden Gooses for both sports. Turns out both had feet of clay. When something or somebody seems to good to be true, they usually are.

The problem for me is that can we trust anything he says now? Years of denials can’t be washed away by a stint on Oprah. Can’t trust what he says and at this point, anything he will say is in self-defense and self-interest.

And any prosecutor will know this when they seek prosecution for tax evasion, fraud, or any other crime that might be applicable to his wealth accumulation as a result of the wins, and his representations.

It’s also not like one can trust what he’s going to say about anyone else who he might implicate. That will read as though he’s giving up names to get reduced time/punishment.

Lance is a loser. Cannot give him a break for all the years of denial. Making money after all the denial.

And Tory Burch.

If what is being said about pretty much all of the top cyclists in contention during Lance’s TDF win streak were juicing, I still think that Lance would have dominated the sport if everyone was clean, because he has that natural ability and force of will; Lance juicing, unfortunately, kept him on an even playing field, so to speak.

The problem for me is that can we trust anything he says now? Years of denials can’t be washed away by a stint on Oprah. Can’t trust what he says and at this point, anything he will say is in self-defense and self-interest.

And any prosecutor will know this when they seek prosecution for tax evasion, fraud, or any other crime that might be applicable to his wealth accumulation as a result of the wins, and his representations.

It’s also not like one can trust what he’s going to say about anyone else who he might implicate. That will read as though he’s giving up names to get reduced time/punishment.

If this ever shakes out to include Lance being put on trial in criminal cases related to his sponsorship by the USPS (and the taxpayer money that was, as we know now, obtained under false pretenses), he’s fucking done.

When he starts naming names of other juicers and those who enabled it to go on, he’s gonna look like a jailhouse rat, a stoolie.

If this ever shakes out to include Lance being put on trial in criminal cases related to his sponsorship by the USPS, he’s fucking done.

When he starts naming names of other juicers and those who enabled it to go on, he’s gonna look like a jailhouse rat, a stoolie.

The names have already been named (for the most part). That’s how we got to this point in the 1st place, others with eye-witness accounts of what/where/ how Lance did it. Don’t forget., for over a decade, he had passed dozens and dozens of tests

The names have already been named (for the most part). That’s how we got to this point in the 1st place, others with eye-witness accounts of what/where/ how Lance did it. Don’t forget., for over a decade, he had passed dozens and dozens of tests

Oh. I know; this whole snowball effect really got going when Landis got caught and he started naming names, especially Lance’s. But, the more this goes on, the more I think that Lance’s ego’s not going to let him hit rock-bottom without taking more than a few people with him.

Thing is that there were a bunch of other riders who were caught doing PEDs and they turned on Armstrong. Armstrong’s just going to pay it forward to someone higher on the food chain perhaps - the people who were providing the meds and illegal prescriptions. Ultimately, that’s where this would appear to be going.

Oh I know, but the more this goes on, the more I think that his ego’s not going to let him hit rock-bottom without taking more than a few people with him.

Nahh. I don’t think so. I really think that he believes this “confession” to Oprah will finish all talk about it (until the next news cycle). The more he yelps about “others” the more focus is still on his years of lying

I want to know why you feature all of these asshat people on this site. You will never change the mind of their supporters, all you do is give them a pulpit that they can use on their sites. Can it be you are one of them in disguse?

The problem for me is that can we trust anything he says now? Years of denials can’t be washed away by a stint on Oprah. Can’t trust what he says and at this point, anything he will say is in self-defense and self-interest.

That goes for many of the guys who testified against him, too. Hamilton, who co-wrote the book Charles link to at the top swore on his wife (who does that??) that he never doped, before he admitted he doped. Landis, who’s doing the whistle blower lawsuit, wrote a book and raised a fair amount of money claiming he never doped, before he admitted he doped.

It’s also not like one can trust what he’s going to say about anyone else who he might implicate. That will read as though he’s giving up names to get reduced time/punishment.

Too late for that. They all gave him up first. Except maybe Johann Bruyneel.

Of all the people Lance screwed, number one might be Greg LeMond. He had his own bicycle brand at Trek. He started publicly asking Lance to ‘fess up, before any one else was ready to do that. Trek sued LeMond for tarnishing their brand, since they were a MAJOR sponsor of Lance. LeMond lost his brand. I don’t know whether it cost him other expenses. LeMond may be one of the least bitter, though. He said if Lance works to clean up the sport’s image, he might even shake his hand.

What do you think it is? He must have some friends in high places pushing him to do it.

For years public opinion was with him because he ‘passed” all those tests, so it was just his opponents sour grapes trying to bring him down (according to Lance’s fans)
. Now that there is a mountain of eye witnesses that have come forward that public support has eroded

If there is one thing he still craves it’s the limelight. Maybe not in public, but being a “player” in the corporate/ charity fund raising world. That’s been gone for awhile now. I think he believes if he can put this behind him he’ll be able to go back to that circuit

Thant goes for many of the guys who testified against him, too. Hamilton, who co-wrote the book Charles link to at the top swore on his wife (who does that??) that he never doped, before he admitted he doped. Landis, who’s doing the whistle blower lawsuit, wrote a book and raised a fair amount of money claiming he never doped, before he admitted he doped.

Too late for that. They all gave him up first. Except maybe Johann Bruyneel.

Of all the people Lance screwed, number one might be Greg LeMond. He had his own bicycle brand at Trek. He started publicly asking Lance to ‘fess up, before any one else was ready to do that. Trek sued LeMond for tarnishing their brand, since they were a MAJOR sponsor of Lance. LeMond lost his brand. I don’t know whether it cost him other expenses. LeMond may be one of the least bitter, though. He said if Lance works to clean up the sport’s image, he might even shake his hand.

I’m sorry, but if I were LeMond, I’d want to punch Lance in the fucking mouth.

I’m sorry, but if I were LeMond, I’d want to punch Lance in the fucking mouth.

Over and over and over again.

LeMond’s been through a lot, and matured quite a bit since his racing days. He started talking about having been abused as a kid, after keeping that to himself for a long time. One of Lance’s associates even suggested using that against LeMond. But that’s why LeMond starting asking Lance to come clean. He learned first hand how healing it is to quit keeping secrets.

LeMond’s been through a lot, and matured quite a bit since his racing days. He started talking about having been abused as a kid, after keeping that to himself for a long time. One of Lance’s associates even suggested using that against LeMond. But that’s why LeMond starting asking Lance to come clean. He learned first hand how healing it is to quit keeping secrets.

But yeah, I’ll bet he still has moments of anger. Maybe lots of ‘em.

I hope he uses Lance’s confession to sue the hell out of Trek for breach of contract, defamation of character, and whatever else he can.

I spent some time composing a funny comeback about you and your ‘disguse’, and all the asshats your feature here, but I wasn’t sure it was going to come off well, and I forgot to even give him a downding. And now he’s gone! *sniff*

I say unleash the metaphorical hounds. Let them dope, take steroids, plutonium powered titanium femur implants. A race of atomic supermen that will conquer the world!
/If nothing else it should make sports more interesting.

I say unleash the metaphorical hounds. Let them dope, take steroids, plutonium powered titanium femur implants. A race of atomic supermen that will conquer the world!
/If nothing else it should make sports more interesting.

Maybe, if they fund their own doped-athlete healthcare system and long-term senescence facilities.

I spent some time composing a funny comeback about you and your ‘disguse’, and all the asshats your feature here, but I wasn’t sure it was going to come off well, and I forgot to even give him a downding. And now he’s gone! *sniff*

People will suspect that his testicle cancer was fueled by drugs! Even his “charity” has no credibility. I don’t think he can be a player in any world.

I feel for all of the innocent people working in and with the Livestrong Foundation who knew nothing of Lance’s fraud, but they need to shut the doors and give donors their money back, because they’ll never be able to shake his stench off, even though he stepped down from its board.

Besides, I don’t want Lance to have any positive legacy stemming from a career that he cheated and lied to get to the pinnacle of.

I feel for all of the innocent people working in and with the Livestrong Foundation who knew nothing of Lance’s fraud, but they need to shut the doors and give donors their money back, because they’ll never be able to shake his stench off.

Besides. I don’t want Lance to have any positive legacy stemming from a career that he cheated and lied to get to the pinnacle of.

I’m sorry but that’s just dumb.
I’ve given and I wouldn’t even THINK of asking for it back.

Not excusing it, but keep in mind that everyone Lance was competing against was cheating just as much.

And I even said as much in my #17.

If the fields that Lance ran against in his TDF heyday were clean (and if he was clean as well), I have no doubts that he would have still dominated. As it turned out, they weren’t clean and Lance turned out to be one of the dirtiest of all.

If you’re going to base a multi-billion dollar economy on professional sports, you might as well let the athletes dope where you can monitor them safely, instead of some asshole dying because he does it wrong.

I say unleash the metaphorical hounds. Let them dope, take steroids, plutonium powered titanium femur implants. A race of atomic supermen that will conquer the world!
/If nothing else it should make sports more interesting.

I’m sorry but that’s just dumb.
I’ve given and I wouldn’t even THINK of asking for it back.

I’m sorry, but Livestrong would not exist if Lance hadn’t juiced, “won” all those TDFs, and then put his name and reputation behind it; while it has laudable goals, it was also another outlet for his Texas-sized ego.

And now, it’s become collateral damage to his fall from grace; I say let the foundation fold, because they’ll never be able to get enough distance from Lance and the rest of his “legacy”.

I didn’t disagree with that part
I highlighted give donors their money back specifically

If the foundation ever does fold, I’d expect it to be liquidated and anything that wasn’t needed to settle up accounts to be disbursed back to the donors, if possible.

If any excess funds were just transferred to other charities, a lot of people (including me) might see it as dirty, tainted money, because the circumstances that led to the foundation of Livestrong were a sham and a fraud.

Lance may have had a lot of natural talent and force of will, but this will eventually end badly (well, worse than it already is) for Armstrong, I’m afraid; it wouldn’t surprise me if the DOJ doesn’t eventually decide to put criminal charges (fraud, conspiracy to defraud, violations of the RICO Act, etc.) on him and other members of the USPS teams Lance led. However, someone more versed in the law than I am will have to pontificate on that; but here’s something everyone should know by now:

Don’t fuck with the Feds.

Sounds like Lance is about to find this out, the hard way.

Given the conspiratorial nature of the doping scandal, RICO charges are a possibility, and they are a fearsome thing. If RICO were involved, Lance Armstrong could be found guilty of every crime committed by everyone in the doping ring.

Given the conspiratorial nature of the doping scandal, RICO charges are a possibility, and they are a fearsome thing. If RICO were involved, Lance Armstrong could be found guilty of every crime committed by everyone in the doping ring.

RICO is the kind of case that sends you to prison for life.

Hence why I think that Lance is trying to get out front now in a sympathetic venue (with Oprah), because he knows he’s standing in front of a giant steamroller.

Hence why I think that Lance is trying to get out front now in a sympathetic venue (with Oprah), because he knows he’s standing in front of a giant steamroller.

Sympathy doesn’t help all that much with this kind of case. The best chance for the people involved in this is to just confess en masse and then cut some type of deal for having not forced a trial. For Lance Armstrong, though, that deal is going to include prison time.

Sympathy doesn’t help all that much with this kind of case. The best chance for the people involved in this is to just confess en masse and then cut some type of deal for having not forced a trial. For Lance Armstrong, though, that deal is going to include prison time.

He’s already lost all of his TDF wins, he stands to lose quite a bit (if not all) of his personal fortune to the Feds, Landis, and others; at this point, I think he’s just trying to avoid losing his freedom by manipulating the court of public opinion.

Well shit. Just popped into the fever swamp for a bit to check their “web awards” and found out I wasn’t even a contender. Hell, I thought I might have had a shot at the least interesting poster award. ///

Well shit. Just popped into the fever swamp for a bit to check their “web awards” and found out I wasn’t even a contender. Hell, I thought I might have had a shot at the least interesting poster award. ///

Well shit. Just popped into the fever swamp for a bit to check their “web awards” and found out I wasn’t even a contender. Hell, I thought I might have had a shot at the least interesting poster award. ///

You shoulda been a contender! //

They gave me one of their “awards”, but I just look at it as yet another chance for them to show their asses to the whole world.

I’m sorry, but Livestrong would not exist if Lance hadn’t juiced, “won” all those TDFs, and then put his name and reputation behind it; while it has laudable goals, it was also another outlet for his Texas-sized ego.

And now, it’s become collateral damage to his fall from grace; I say let the foundation fold, because they’ll never be able to get enough distance from Lance and the rest of his “legacy”.

I agree and I think TS does too, but that doesn’t matter now. Livestrong is now tainted by its founder’s lies and deceit. I see no way of ridding it of that taint unless Armstrong was willing to publicly confess all his misdeeds, and accept a prison term. That might be enough to cleanse it of the taint, if it were renamed.

This is your chance to own the most iconic piece of history tried and true of all assault weapons! This rock is millions of years old and may have been the caveman’s AR15. This is not a modern AR15 or assault weapon, rather this is the caveman’s AR15 (Assault Rock). Again this is a ROCK.

…

money will be going to firearms related clubs, charities ect just not decided yet so it will be used for good

I sorta made their front page once when I first asked about them. The post was hopeful that they might “enlighten” someone else about the horrible nature of LGF.

After spending about 5 minutes poring through the site, I was tempted to register just to tell them to go pound sand. However, given that the guy’s apparent skill is stalking people, I decided against it.

I’m still stunned by the amount of effort this guy puts into the stalker blog. He’s easily spending 30 hours a week doing it. There’s some kind of borderline illness at work there.

Lance lived quite the high life, going to all the soirees and mingling with all the people. Children abound. No worries about his funding. Because he made all this money off of his athletic prowess. Which turns out to be a lie.

He should get a job. And, no, it’s not making money off of triathlons.

I agree and I think TS does too, but that doesn’t matter now. Livestrong is now tainted by its founder’s lies and deceit. I see no way of ridding it of that taint unless Armstrong was willing to publicly confess all his misdeeds, resign as the foundation’s and accept a prison term. That might be enough to cleanse it of the taint, if it were renamed.

Lance already resigned from Livestrong’s board a few months ago, IIRC…may have been more recent than that.

However, he was the face of the foundation and the reason it exists. I can’t see very many ways that Livestrong doesn’t lose a bunch of donors over Lance’s fraud, especially big-money and corporate donors.

“They” don’t need their pathology reinforced, it is iron strength. And there are several “pits” of former LGF’ers and stalkers, not just one. Whole lot of sick peoples in this world.

I know, but I avoid those cesspools for a reason. Having them mentioned (and therefore encouraged) with comments here is like having the cesspool water splashed in my path, so I suffer the stench regardless (as does anyone else who doesn’t want to be exposed to that garbage)

Lance lived quite the high life, going to all the soirees and mingling with all the people. Children abound. No worries about his funding. Because he made all this money off of his athletic prowess. Which turns out to be a lie.

He should get a job. And, no, it’s not making money off of triathlons.

yea..But I thought it was so stupid and childish I campanged for the award..It pissed them off cause I didn’t even get mentioned.
They are hateful and lie about people. I’ve left websites before but didn’t whine about it for literally years. I’ll stop going there till next years award.
The reason I went there for the last 6 months is to check out Steve’s music links. The man is a musical genius. It’s not worth it anymore.

With that, Lance is acting like a person with a textbook case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Rules are for other people. If I failed, it was someone else’s fault. My plan was perfect, you all fucked it up…

The quality of mercy is not strain’d.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptered sway;
It is enthroned in the heart of kings;
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice.
— William Shakespeare

In the “I should have known, but didn’t” category, Cecile Richards (president of Planned Parenthood) is the daughter of Ann Richards - former governor of the very state trying to destroy the organization today :(

Those comments are a treasure trove. And they’re not just over-the-top anonymous comments in a Freeper thread, They’re FB posts, which means those commenters are totally OK that everyone on their friend list can see them. wowie.

I have one aunt that left Poland during the 40s. Another that left Cuba during the 50s. We left Argentina in the early 60s. Sometimes I think I dodged a bullet. I could have been a conscript in the Falklands War. A third cousin disappeared.

I don’t have that luxury. People see a bike shop and say to themselves, “Oh, look. A bike shop. I think I’ll go in there and ask what they think about this whole Lance thing. And while I’m at it, I’ll tell them about the Schwinn I had in 1970.”

… an increased emphasis on pubic maintenance has diminished infestations of the crab-footed bugs.

“We put the flag out, so to speak, if we see a case of pubic lice nowadays,” said Janet Wilson, a sexual health consultant based out of Leeds, England. “The ‘habitat destruction’ of the pubic lice is increasing and they are becoming an endangered species.”

While studies as recent as 2009 found Phthirus pubis afflicted between 2 and 10 percent of the human population, England is one of several countries reporting a steep drop in cases: Sexual health practitioners in Sydney, Australia, have reported not having to treat a woman for pubic lice since 2008, with male cases dropping by 80 percent over the past decade.

I don’t have that luxury. People see a bike shop and say to themselves, “Oh, look. A bike shop. I think I’ll go in there and ask what they think about this whole Lance thing. And while I’m at it, I’ll tell them about the Schwinn I had in 1970.”

I used to be able to average 22 MPH. Top speed was about 57 MPH. I could spin at 300 RPMs.

The Alpha Legion is the Chaos Space Marine Traitor Legion about whom the least is known. The Alpha Legion was once the XX Legion of Astartes created during the First Founding by the Emperor of Mankind to carry out his Great Crusade to reunite all of humanity in a new Golden Age under his rule. They are experts in infiltration and their armies contain many Chaos Cultists in addition to regular Chaos Space Marines. The Alpha Legion’s Primarch was named Alpharius, who was actually one of the identical twin Primarchs Alpharius Omegon, two brilliant and secretive sons of the Emperor, one of whom was reportedly later killed after end of the Horus Heresy by Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines. Despite its seeming allegiance to Chaos, a closer scrutiny of the Alpha Legion’s known history indicates that their seeming service to Chaos Undivided might actually be the greatest deception they have played upon the Imperium.

Hundreds of women have been arrested, convicted, jailed, detained in mental institutions or forced to endure medical procedures as a result of the “criminalisation of pregnancy” over the last four decades, a new report has found.

In the first study of its kind, to be published on Tuesday, researchers from the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) identified 413 criminal and civil cases across 44 states involving the arrests, detentions and equivalent deprivations of pregnant women’s liberty between 1973 and 2005. NAWP said that it is aware of a further 250 cases since 2005. Both figures are likely to be underestimates, it said.

The report, which will appear in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, found that women were denied a wide range of basic human rights, including the right to life, liberty, equal protection and due process of law “based solely on their pregnancy status”.

Wow, I was digging through some of the information on the PA lottery privatization, and it is unbelievably crooked. Evidentially Corbett is trying to force this through in this lame duck period (the Democrats swept the state wide races) before the new State Treasurer comes in. Long comment ahead.

Because of the confidentiality promises embedded in the state’s procurement process, many of the details the administration has negotiated with Camelot have been kept under wraps.

An administration official said the notice of contract award will allow more of those details to emerge at Monday’s hearing.

That’s right, the state effectively barred public debate before the contract was even awarded. And the first public comments given by the company about this deal were made yesterday. In short- the contract was signed the 11th. The “public hearing” was on the 14th.

Camelot Global Services, the British national lottery operator, is poised to take over management of the Pennsylvania Lottery after Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration said Friday that it had awarded a contract to the company in a deal that pledges $34 billion in profits to the state over the next 20 years. Pennsylvania, whose lottery is among the country’s largest with $3.5 billion in sales last year, is on track to become the third state, after Indiana and Illinois, to hire a private lottery manager.

Let’s see… $3.5 Billion x 20 = 70 Billion. And under the deal…

Camelot can win contract extensions of up to 10 years if it meets certain performance benchmarks…

Which is pretty much a guarantee- giving perpetual control of the lottery system to a private, foreign entity and instituting performance based kickbacks that the state would not have been obligated to give if the lottery were to stay publicly run.

Fucking. Corrupt.

The company is already floating grand plans to expand gambling in the state.

“ I’ll say again it’s a service management contract. We are not privatizing the lottery. Under federal law the commonwealth maintains all control over the Pennsylvania lottery,” says Pete Tartline, Executive Deputy Secretary, Governor’s Office of the Budget.

Expect to hear the term “service management contract” more from Republicans in the future. It should be noted that gambling regulations are far more stringent in the United Kingdom.

I’m no bicycling fan, but didn’t Lance Armstrong have cancer and chemotherapy, and instead of coming back all frail and ready to blow away in a mild wind, he ended up with like the best lung capacity and heart and everything.

We should forget the stupid shit about fair competition and find out how he “doped” and give his regiment to every cancer patient who can tolerate it.

Liver damage from chemo pretty much killed a friend of mine. If lance could do both he’s on to something.

Not every person is the same.
For example, chemo saved a my friend’s life. And extended the life of my grandfather.
Another friend, however, died very fast from his cancer despite the efforts of medicine.

I seem to recall reading about a time when doping with cocaine and pastisse was SOP for cyclists, nobody expected them to be able to perform such athletic feats without some sort of performance enhancers.

I’m late to the party and I had a whole long post written up about my feelings on the revelations from Lance…but I’ve thought better of it and deleted it all. I’ll simply say at this point that the man may have lost all his titles and is now likely to be shorn of his ill-gotten fortunes, but he’s secured himself a spot in the halls of disgraced athletes. I very much doubt anyone expected to see him there one day…except perhaps himself.

Why do we come to expect superhuman performance from mere humans? And not just from athletes, we expect mothers to manage a career and raise a family, we expect communications media to allow us instantaneous transfer of any and all forms of information while allowing us to retain control of confidentiality and security, we expect our young women to be vivacious sex bombs but remain virginally pure until marriage…

Why do we come to expect superhuman performance from mere humans? And not just from athletes, we expect mothers to manage a career and raise a family, we expect communications media to allow us instantaneous transfer of any and all forms of information while allowing us to retain control of confidentiality and security, we expect our young women to be vivacious sex bombs but remain virginally pure until marriage…

No wonder we are breeding a neurotic society.

In some ways, I think it’s because we like to think we’re better than the ones who came before us, such that we expect better performance from every succeeding generation. If we ever acknowledged a peak in human performance, in human endeavor, it might make us question how we overcome that peak and still maintain some measure of “sportsmanship.”

In some ways, I think it’s because we like to think we’re better than the ones who came before us, such that we expect better performance from every succeeding generation. If we ever acknowledged a peak in human performance, in human endeavor, it might make us question how we overcome that peak and still maintain some measure of “sportsmanship.”

Yes, and we expect an ever-increasing standard of living, based, however, not on quality of life but by level of income.

The grandson of former presidential candidate Ron Paul and son of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is charged with assaulting a flight attendant during a U.S. Airways flight from Lexington, Ky., to Charlotte last weekend.

William Paul, 19, was arrested Jan. 5 at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after his flight landed. The Bowling Green, Ky., resident, also was charged with consuming beer/wine underage, disorderly conduct and being intoxicated and disruptive.

Initial news reports last week did not cite the assault charge, but it is unclear why that charge was not reported at the time.

The misdemeanor assault on a female by aggressive physical force charge was confirmed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Saturday.

linux guru now going through the latest aiglebot thread and rage-dinging everyone who doesn’t like autobot posting.

I have some autobot calling my cellphone every day between 1:30 and 1:40pm about a credit card account. No idea what account it is talking about, and I am not going to call the number back either.

I half-suspect it’s a wrong number situation. I had a bank leaving messages on my answering machine constantly about loan paperwork put in by somebody I had never heard of. Finally called them back and told them they were calling the wrong number. And they were pissed (and essentially accused me of lying to them) since apparently there were some fees or something owed at that point.

I have some autobot calling my cellphone every day between 1:30 and 1:40pm about a credit card account. No idea what account it is talking about, and I am not going to call the number back either.

I half-suspect it’s a wrong number situation. I had a bank leaving messages on my answering machine constantly about loan paperwork put in by somebody I had never heard of. Finally called them back and told them they were calling the wrong number. And they were pissed (and essentially accused me of lying to them) since apparently there were some fees or something owed at that point.

Get that every once in a while—They are trying a concern-based social engineering ploy: “We have identified an issue with your account”. When they get to the scripted “There is nothing wrong at this time but..” It’s the sign to hang up.

Totally missing the point as usual: does not mention the alternative of a theater filled with a bunch of gun nuts all with loaded firearms, shooting at the “crazed gunman” only now you have a whole bunch of crazed gunmen IN A DARKENED THEATER.

Totally missing the point as usual: does not mention the alternative of a theater filled with a bunch of gun nuts all with loaded firearms, shooting at the “crazed gunman” only now you have a whole bunch of crazed gunmen IN A DARKENED THEATER.

Totally missing the point as usual: does not mention the alternative of a theater filled with a bunch of gun nuts all with loaded firearms, shooting at the “crazed gunman” only now you have a whole bunch of crazed gunmen IN A DARKENED THEATER.

BREATHTAKING FAIL.

Short of Heller being overturned in the near future, there will be no total ban on guns. Even in a scenario where Democrats dominated the Congress long enough to pass such a total ban, and they had an “anti-gun” president to sign the bill, the Supreme Court would be quick to put an injunction on the law until such time as it could rule it unconstitutional.

If this country ever got that point, then an armed populace would not be any sort of check on government overreach.

It found that low-income women and African American women were more likely to be deprived of their liberty. The largest percentage of cases of the 413 – 56% – came from the southern states, followed by 22% in the midwest.

Totally missing the point as usual: does not mention the alternative of a theater filled with a bunch of gun nuts all with loaded firearms, shooting at the “crazed gunman” only now you have a whole bunch of crazed gunmen IN A DARKENED THEATER.

BREATHTAKING FAIL.

Yeah, I began the countdown as soon as the POTUS said yesterday: “I will do what I can legally do by Executive Action” (paraphrase)

The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41. Armstrong has been banned for life from competing in sporting events governed by the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
…
…
The WADA code provides for reduced penalties in instances in which athletes provide “substantial assistance” in resolving other doping cases.

Seeing as he is probably going to be made bankrupt by all the court-cases against him, being able to earn some income is a higher priority for him now than trying to protect his image.

Short of Heller being overturned in the near future, there will be no total ban on guns. Even in a scenario where Democrats dominated the Congress long enough to pass such a total ban, and they had an “anti-gun” president to sign the bill, the Supreme Court would be quick to put an injunction on the law until such time as it could rule it unconstitutional.

If this country ever got that point, then an armed populace would not be any sort of check on government overreach.

Realistically, look for a return to the AWB, perhaps with the gun-show loophole closed and ‘bullet button’ provisions. Anything else will run into the Supreme Court. To do anything else means Senate confirmation of 2-3 liberal justices or multi-generational change to the 2A. I don’t want to see the President blow his 2nd term tilting at this windmill. There are a lot of doable things that need to be done.

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. The NYS State Senate passed their gun control/mental health comprehensive bill yesterday, and the Assembly is set to pass it today. Gov. Cuomo will probably sign before the end of the week (there’s a 3-day waiting period unless a message of necessity is attached).

Ammunition limits:
The bill will cap magazine/clip size at 10 - anything more is illegal regardless of date of manufacture. Going forward, max clip/magazine size is 7. A mechanism is going to be put in place to identify high volume purchasers of ammo and these buyers will have to be run through the NICS database. The bill requires that any seller—whether located in New York or out of state-ship the ammunition to a dealer within New York for in-person
pick-up.

Licensing:
While the existing law granted non-expiring licenses, the new law will require relicensing every five years. Failure to recertify means revocation of the license.

Kendra’s Law:
Well, it extends Kendra’s Law through 2017 (granting judges the authority to issue orders that require people who meet certain criteria to regularly undergo psychiatric treatment and that failure to comply could result in commitment for up to 72 hours - such persons are not forced to take meds though).

Gun sales/transfers:
Background checks must be completed for all gun sales, except for immediate family. Private sellers may transfer a gun only if the buyer has obtained a federal “NICS” check. Further, dealers must maintain records of private sale background checks, and private sellers may charge a fee of up to $10 on a transaction. Transfers between immediate family members will be exempt from the requirements of this section.

Storage:
For persons who live with those who are not allowed to own firearms, there’s a new requirement for the lawful owner to safely secure those weapons (gun lock/safe).

Mental health:

Persons who are mentally ill and dangerous cannot retain or obtain a firearm. First, mental health records that are currently sent to NIDCS for a federal background check will also be housed in a New York State
database. The law will require mental health professionals, in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment, to report if an individual they are treating is likely to engage in conduct that will cause serious harm to him- or herself or others. A good faith decision about whether to report will not be a basis for any criminal or civil liability. When a Section 9.46 report is made, the Division of Criminal Justice Services will determine whether the person possesses a firearms license and, if so, will notify the appropriate local licensing official, who must suspend the license. The person’s firearms will then be removed.

Criminal penalties:
Criminal penalties are added or increased across a range of crimes, including straw purchases, increased penalties for firearms on school buses and school properties.

School safety:
The state will increase reimbursement to school districts seeking building safety upgrades (think bullet resistant glass, secured entry areas, etc.)

Then again, even Scalia opined that Heller doesn’t preclude reasonable gun restrictions. The question is therefore what is considered reasonable gun restriction.

Prohibiting a specific class of firearms might be reasonable if the overall right to bear arms isn’t impinged. You can ban certain high capacity ammo holders (clips/magazines), and that doesn’t prevent a person from owning firearms.

You could conceivably require periodic registration of the firearms or licensing renewals, and that conforms to “reasonable gun restrictions”.

Banning an entire class of weapons using language that is suspect wouldn’t pass muster. And therein lies the problem - how to describe weapons that are permissible or impermissible without creating significant loopholes or would violate the 2d.

So far, nobody’s put limits on the sale of china dolls. Part of the way they get men to go to these gun shows is by adding “& Doll” to the name of the show - “Gun & Doll Show” - then the women who collect dolls drag their husbands along and they entertain themselves stroking each other’s barrels while the ladies do the serious bargaining.

So far, nobody’s put limits on the sale of china dolls. Part of the way they get men to go to these gun shows is by adding “& Doll” to the name of the show - “Gun & Doll Show” - then the women who collect dolls drag their husbands along and they entertain themselves stroking each other’s barrels while the ladies do the serious bargaining.

Realistically, look for a return to the AWB, perhaps with the gun-show loophole closed and ‘bullet button’ provisions. Anything else will run into the Supreme Court. To do anything else means Senate confirmation of 2-3 liberal justices or multi-generational change to the 2A. I don’t want to see the President blow his 2nd term tilting at this windmill. There are a lot of doable things that need to be done.

And even this much would require flipping the house in 2014. Let’s just say the odds are against that one…

A lot of good common sense provisions IMHO. Certainly it could go further in my mind but it takes some important steps. I particularly like the re-licensing provision. But it may also be a cause for concern. Gun owners may avoid seeking mental health care if they believe it may result in them losing their license. A bit of a conundrum I would say.

Then again, even Scalia opined that Heller doesn’t preclude reasonable gun restrictions. The question is therefore what is considered reasonable gun restriction.

Prohibiting a specific class of firearms might be reasonable if the overall right to bear arms isn’t impinged. You can ban certain high capacity ammo holders (clips/magazines), and that doesn’t prevent a person from owning firearms.

You could conceivably require periodic registration of the firearms or licensing renewals, and that conforms to “reasonable gun restrictions”.

Banning an entire class of weapons using language that is suspect wouldn’t pass muster. And therein lies the problem - how to describe weapons that are permissible or impermissible without creating significant loopholes or would violate the 2d.

Even with the string of atrocities, the will isn’t there. Gallup a few days ago found that the public acceptance of increased legal control had ‘spiked’, all the way to 38%. In much of the country crossing the gunfondlers is political suicide.

So even the ten round “brady bill” magazines are to be retroactively illegal?
Isn’t that kinda dicey in legal terms?

I wonder if that wasn’t put in there with a server-ability clause to allow the gun nuts to get it thrown out so they can claim a partial victory. Thus the NRA can squeal they tried while otherwise fairly reasonable restrictions move forward.

A lot of good common sense provisions IMHO. Certainly it could go further in my mind but it takes some important steps. I particularly like the re-licensing provision. But it may also be a cause for concern. Gun owners may avoid seeking mental health care if they believe it may result in them losing their license. A bit of a conundrum I would say.

It’s a big issue. ONly adds to the stigma of mental health treatment.

Personally, I’d rather a person seeking treatment (depending on the disorder, of course) have firearms than one that needs it but won’t get it.

Even with the string of atrocities, the will isn’t there. Gallup a few days ago found that the public acceptance of increased legal control had ‘spiked’, all the way to 38%. In much of the country crossing the gunfondlers is political suicide.

Eh? Define “legal control.” Because I saw two polls this morning that contradict Gallup.

That’s too bad about Lance Armstrong. All the wins he was able to do in the Tour de France was spectacular but now that he’s finally admitting that he cheated the whole time after lying about it is such a damn shame.

Listening to the radio last night, it appears even the Republicans in the state are on board. They either see the value in getting these regs signed into law, or the peril in trying to stop them. Either way, it’s a win.

That’s too bad about Lance Armstrong. All the wins he was able to do in the Tour de France was spectacular but now that he’s finally admitting that he cheated the whole time after lying about it is such a damn shame.

Not yet enacted. It’s going to pass the Assembly today, and it should be signed by Gov. Cuomo by the end of the week. I’m almost expecting the NRA to sue for injunctive relief against the ammo and mental health provisions within hours of passage though. We’ll see.

Not yet enacted. It’s going to pass the Assembly today, and it should be signed by Gov. Cuomo by the end of the week. I’m almost expecting the NRA to sue for injunctive relief against the ammo and mental health provisions within hours of passage though. We’ll see.

That’s too bad about Lance Armstrong. All the wins he was able to do in the Tour de France was spectacular but now that he’s finally admitting that he cheated the whole time after lying about it is such a damn shame.

He can get pissed on for all I care. It’s bicycling for shit’s sake. I do applaud him for his battle with cancer and subsequent work in the area, but he shit on a lot of people to hide his obvious lies, and he deserves whatever comeuppance he gets.

Not yet enacted. It’s going to pass the Assembly today, and it should be signed by Gov. Cuomo by the end of the week. I’m almost expecting the NRA to sue for injunctive relief against the ammo and mental health provisions within hours of passage though. We’ll see.

Understood. Still have to applaud the state acting with dispatch, though.

That’s too bad about Lance Armstrong. All the wins he was able to do in the Tour de France was spectacular but now that he’s finally admitting that he cheated the whole time after lying about it is such a damn shame.

Actually, so many riders dope I don’t consider it cheating…but it did look odd after the mountains in the Tour de France last time when he spent the night on his bicycle at the starting line for the next day shouting, “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon everybody! Let’s ride!”

Kendra’s Law was enacted with NAMI support so I think that they’ll probably be behind the strengthening of the mental health law in that respect. Reducing the access to firearms would also reduce the chances that someone who may be suicidal is able to carry through on those thoughts/beliefs/actions.

Totally missing the point as usual: does not mention the alternative of a theater filled with a bunch of gun nuts all with loaded firearms, shooting at the “crazed gunman” only now you have a whole bunch of crazed gunmen IN A DARKENED THEATER.

BREATHTAKING FAIL.

Once again we come back to the basic failure to grasp any sort of reality. These nutcases just don’t get it. If the United States government really was tyrannical? Your pathetic little handguns and hunting rifles would not save you. They’d shove a tank or a drone so far up your ass you’d forget how to even hold them.

It is a uniquely American position to be whining and complaining about ‘tyranny’ while having absolutely zero fucking clue what actual tyranny looks like.

Kendra’s Law was enacted with NAMI support so I think that they’ll probably be behind the strengthening of the mental health law in that respect. Reducing the access to firearms would also reduce the chances that someone who may be suicidal is able to carry through on those thoughts/beliefs/actions.

He can get pissed on for all I care. It’s bicycling for shit’s sake. I do applaud him for his battle with cancer and subsequent work in the area, but he shit on a lot of people to hide his obvious lies, and he deserves whatever comeuppance he gets.

All it’s going to take is for Oprah to say he’s all forgiven and a lot of people will just go with it.

Freep? I’m not talking about a bunch of unhinged delinquents with internet connections. I mean gun people in general. They’re hardcore about their guns and everything that goes with it, but when a supposed member of that group starts threatening to kill people, he’s essentially voted off the island as a fringe lunatic.

Freep? I’m not talking about a bunch of unhinged delinquents with internet connections. I mean gun people in general. They’re hardcore about their guns and everything that goes with it, but when a supposed member of that group starts threatening to kill people, he’s essentially voted off the island as a fringe lunatic.

Freep? I’m not talking about a bunch of unhinged delinquents with internet connections. I mean gun people in general. They’re hardcore about their guns and everything that goes with it, but when a supposed member of that group starts threatening to kill people, he’s essentially voted off the island as a fringe lunatic.

I watch a list of sites LW—RW. (Stormfront doesn’t even make the cut.) Freep is about 1/3 the way up from the bottom.

All it’s going to take is for Oprah to say he’s all forgiven and a lot of people will just go with it.

Except that according to articles this morning, Oprah found him a little less than forthcoming. I think she feels he tried to manage this press release a little too much. She prefers crying and big TV moments and what she got was canned statements prepared by his lawyers. Does not sound like she is endorsing the apology.

I guess I’m lucky that my FB social circle doesn’t have many people like this. One knucklehead who is (natch) a public school teacher constantly recycles tropes about the “47%”. I’d remind him that his entire livelihood is based on government spending, but I don’t want to bother with it.

Mexican drug cartels obtain guns so easily because of the pathetic lack of regulation in the US. Similar situation in Canada:

Reminds me of when I lived near D.C. The District had some fairly strict laws, but someone did some research and basically found out that most of the guns were being purchased with relative ease in Virginia and other points and brought in.

Unless we start putting up a lot of internal barriers the issue is a national one and not a state one.

I guess I’m lucky that my FB social circle doesn’t have many people like this. One knucklehead who is (natch) a public school teacher constantly recycles tropes about the “47%”. I’d remind him that his entire livelihood is based on government spending, but I don’t want to bother with it.

I used to have a teabagger on my list, but she booted me because she didn’t appreciate my pointing out of GOP douchebaggery on rape. Her Randian fetishism was truly hilarious in light of the fact I first met her at a Canadian college - which she attended because our socialist education funding made even the international student fees cheaper than US domestic ones!

Exactly one month after the Newtown school massacre, the National Rifle Association has launched a free iPhone and iPad shooting game offering kids as young as 4 a chance to fire guns at coffin-shaped targets.

The free game “NRA: Practice Range” is offered on iTunes and allows would-be snipers to choose a weapon to fire at an indoor gun range, an outdoor range or for skeet shooting practice.

The free guns include a Beretta M-9 handgun, a Colt M-16 assault rifle with 15-round clip or a Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun.

For 99 cents extra, players can “unlock” higher-capacity guns similar to one Adam Lanza used in the Sandy Hook massacre, including AK-47 assault rifles and an M-11 sniper rifles.

Not excusing it, but keep in mind that everyone Lance was competing against was cheating just as much.

I read through the USADA report. If their evidence is accurate (and, yes, it’s mostly derived from his team-mates) then Armstrong was cheating more than the others - he had a far more systematic and organized approach to cheating than did (to choose another well-documented case) Festina.

Even 55%, the way representation is distributed, would not move the ball.
The movement to bring changes to gun laws is not even in the ‘lunch counter sit-in’ phase yet.

Note those are the numbers for an assault weapons ban. WP/ABC has 88% for universal background checks, while Pew has it at 85%. Slightly lower but similar numbers for a national registry. Even Reid acknowledged that an assault weapons ban is unlikely to pass in the House. But that does not mean all gun controls proposals are DOA.

Astounding hypocrisy, is it not? Especially considering how much emphasis Mr. LaPierre (wtf kind of name is that for a gun-nut? /Carlin) and others of his ilk put on violent video games, media, and entertainment.

Note those are the numbers for an assault weapons ban. WP/ABC has 88% for universal background checks, while Pew has it at 85%. Slightly lower but similar numbers for a national registry. Even Reid acknowledged that an assault weapons ban is unlikely to pass in the House. But that does not mean all gun controls proposals are DOA.

No, but it means they will be so full of holes that nothing truly effective would pass. (Not that we even have a consensus on what would work.) The next school/theatre/mall/church shooting will proceed on it’s culturally-imposed schedule.

This is key for the NRA to remain relevant in the long term. Younger people are less and less likely to take part in gun “sports” so they need to engage them any way they can and as early as they can. But if kids can play all the various shooter games that are out there which show graphic violence and in which they shoot people, I fail to see why a game that simulates shooting at skeet and targets is worthy of a freak out. Timing is questionable. Age appropriateness of 4 years old is questionable. Motives are clear.

No, but it means they will be so full of holes that nothing truly effective would pass. (Not that we even have a consensus on what would work.) The next school/theatre/mall/church shooting will proceed on it’s culturally-imposed schedule.

It’s still too early to tell, at least from where I’m sitting. One thing we can be sure of is that the NRA will fight any proposals from Biden’s taskforce tooth and nail, and with the poll numbers like presented, will only make themselves look ridiculous for fighting against items that most people think are common sense. Especially if the folks making the “pro-gun” case are absolutely bonkers and meet every suggestion with conspiracy theories about imaginary Hitler.

It’s still too early to tell, at least from where I’m sitting. One thing we can be sure of is that the NRA will fight any proposals from Biden’s taskforce tooth and nail, and with the poll numbers like presented, will only make themselves look ridiculous for fighting against items that most people think are common sense. Especially if the folks making the “pro-gun” case are absolutely bonkers and meet every suggestion with conspiracy theories about imaginary Hitler.

What a real world tyranny looks like (or could look like): Pakistan. Court order arrest of Prime Minister. Military looks to hold off elections, and the power struggle/crisis could pave the way to yet another military junta taking the reins from a civilian government.

It’s still too early to tell, at least from where I’m sitting. One thing we can be sure of is that the NRA will fight any proposals from Biden’s taskforce tooth and nail, and with the poll numbers like presented, will only make themselves look ridiculous for fighting against items that most people think are common sense. Especially if the folks making the “pro-gun” case are absolutely bonkers and meet every suggestion with conspiracy theories about imaginary Hitler.

I think that’s the strategy at this point. Nothing will ever win the NRA’s (gun manufacturers’) blessing in relation to gun control, so we’re going to see very modest, rational, and pragmatic proposals in order to draw as much support to them as possible from anybody who might be a fence-sitter. Then we’ll watch the NRA and lunatic-fringe fight like cornered animals against regulations which will have a very modest if infinitesimal impact on law-abiding gun owners.

That seems to be the Obama Administration’s mode of operation (for better and worse) on most things. Make a modest proposal, let the crazies come out against it, and pick off as many defectors as possible to pass something.

All your AR-15s and firearms don’t mean anything if you’ve got an unhinged kid who has violent fantasies of their own (see Newtown).

Or all your firearms wont mean anything against a drone strike, airstrike, or a concerted military action. Even many law enforcement agencies have APCs and other armored vehicles against which those firearms will mean little (see even Crazy Joe’s armored vehicles).

All these reactions to reasonable measured attempts at gun control are exactly the same as could have been expected pre-Newton, it’s just that people are finally starting to tell these f*ckwits to shut up and go away.

SYRIA’S President Bashar al-Assad may defy calls to step down and stand for election in 2014, an official says, as his army pounded rebel zones with shells and air strikes, killing dozens.

In a bloody day for Syria as it marked 22 months since the eruption of an anti-regime revolt that has morphed into a full-scale civil war, a bomb rocked Aleppo University in the country’s north killing at least 15 people, while 45 others died in shellings and air raids elsewhere, a watchdog said.

The latest violence came a day after a senior official said Assad should be allowed to run for election in 2014.

“We are opening the way for democracy, or deeper democracy. In a democracy you don’t tell somebody not to run,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad in an interview with the BBC on Monday.

He repeated the Syrian regime’s insistence that calls for Assad to step down immediately are foreign-backed and illegitimate.

…The United Nations says that more than 60,000 people have died in the Syria conflict which began 22 months ago, on March 15, 2011, with peaceful protests that erupted into deadly violence in the wake of a harsh regime crackdown.

I think that’s the strategy at this point. Nothing will ever win the NRA’s (gun manufacturers’) blessing in relation to gun control, so we’re going to see very modest, rational, and pragmatic proposals in order to draw as much support to them as possible from anybody who might be a fence-sitter. Then we’ll watch the NRA and lunatic-fringe fight like cornered animals against regulations which will have a very modest if infinitesimal impact on law-abiding gun owners.

That seems to be the Obama Administration’s mode of operation (for better and worse) on most things. Make a modest proposal, let the crazies come out against it, and pick off as many defectors as possible to pass something.

And that really is the best move to make when support is tepid, small moves that draw out the worst in your enemies. Instead of trying to make them look ridiculous, allow them to do all the work for you.

All your AR-15s and firearms don’t mean anything if you’ve got an unhinged kid who has violent fantasies of their own (see Newtown).

Or all your firearms wont mean anything against a drone strike, airstrike, or a concerted military action. Even many law enforcement agencies have APCs and other armored vehicles against which those firearms will mean little (see even Crazy Joe’s armored vehicles).

Please, all of these civil-war fetishists haven’t thought about actual war or anything of the sort and many would probably piss themselves at the thought (or crap themselves if you’re a shitty-music chickenshit like Teddy Nugent). To these people the whole civil-war fantasy is nothing more than their desire to go out and shoot somebody they don’t like (black/gay/hispanic/liberal etc.).

Please, all of these civil-war fetishists haven’t thought about actual war or anything of the sort and many would probably piss themselves at the thought (or crap themselves if you’re a shitty-music chickenshit like Teddy Nugent). To these people the whole civil-war fantasy is nothing more than their desire to go out and shoot somebody they don’t like (black/gay/hispanic/liberal etc.).

They don’t know how the last Civil War turned out, nor do they know how Shays’ Rebellion turned out.

Please, all of these civil-war fetishists haven’t thought about actual war or anything of the sort and many would probably piss themselves at the thought (or crap themselves if you’re a shitty-music chickenshit like Teddy Nugent). To these people the whole civil-war fantasy is nothing more than their desire to go out and shoot somebody they don’t like (black/gay/hispanic/liberal etc.).

Maybe the stock response to them should be, ‘Why are you plotting against America?’

These pathetic, delusional little pricks cannot see how much they are shooting themselves in the foot and undermining their own cause. Let them continue, it is, for better or worse, part of the healing process.

Even many law enforcement agencies have APCs and other armored vehicles against which those firearms will mean little (see even Crazy Joe’s armored vehicles).

Yeah, this.

The other day, there was a shootout here in Austin and a cop was injured. Look at the first photo in that link. The cops here pulled out the armored SWAT vehicles and fatigues. They weren’t fucking around.

Now take that scenario and up the ante by a few orders of magnitude if one of these RWNJ fuckwits decides to be a “patriot” and start an armed insurrection. Between local and state law enforcement and the military, those guys don’t stand a chance.

Isn’t that the way it always works with conspiracy nuts? Say that the heroes were part of the “inside job”? After all, the 9/11 truthers always said that the FDNY was paid off to be part of the conspiracy.

The other day, there was a shootout here in Austin and a cop was injured. Look at the first photo in that link. The cops here pulled out the armored SWAT vehicles and fatigues. They weren’t fucking around.

Now take that scenario and up the ante by a few orders of magnitude if one of these RWNJ fuckwits decides to be a “patriot” and start an armed insurrection. Between local and state law enforcement and the military, those guys don’t stand a chance.

And any sort of organized insurrection planned over public channels of communication might as well be written in smoke signals. And any efforts at organization over private channels would be hindered by the same sort of paranoia and distrust that constitutes the arguments against the government.

Isn’t that the way it always works with conspiracy nuts? Say that the heroes were part of the “inside job”? After all, the 9/11 truthers always said that the FDNY was paid off to be part of the conspiracy.

9/11 truthers were always seen as marginalized whackos without a lobby or an advocacy group pushing a legal agenda.

But I am glad to see the gun nuts being pushed into the same area beyond the warning track out in left field…

I just used this on a friend’s FB page after I already chewed him out about posting some truther video, him thinking that it was “something to think about.” THIS is what happens with spreading that crapola around…people getting harassed by paranoid people terrified that the government is going to take their guns away. Gee, what could possibly go wrong.

So basically he’s saying the vast majority of US Jews aren’t pro-Israel.

Even if that were true— which it’s not— why wouldn’t that call into question why?

I think a lot of people are mistaking US Jews’ distaste for Bibi and the insane fuckwits he’s allied with with opposition to Israel. Actually,no, I don’t think that, I think they just are knee-jerk accusing US Jews of being anti-Israel because it’s a cheap, easy ploy to use against them.

To be quite honest, I’d care much more about whether an American politician was a Pro-America one than a Pro-Israel one. I wasn’t aware we were voting for the interests of foreign nations in electing politicians for our nation.

Please, all of these civil-war fetishists haven’t thought about actual war or anything of the sort and many would probably piss themselves at the thought (or crap themselves if you’re a shitty-music chickenshit like Teddy Nugent). To these people the whole civil-war fantasy is nothing more than their desire to go out and shoot somebody they don’t like (black/gay/hispanic/liberal etc.).

Good thing for them there are no guns in the Alabama black community nor among the 35% of us who voted for Obama.

So basically he’s saying the vast majority of US Jews aren’t pro-Israel.

Even if that were true— which it’s not— why wouldn’t that call into question why?

I think a lot of people are mistaking US Jews’ distaste for Bibi and the insane fuckwits he’s allied with with opposition to Israel. Actually,no, I don’t think that, I think they just are knee-jerk accusing US Jews of being anti-Israel because it’s a cheap, easy ploy to use against them.

Yeah. Since most American Jews vote Democrat, according to this guy, since Dems aren’t pro-Israel American Jews are no pro-Israel. Or something. He’s with the Examiner so expect derpiness.

Schumer support for Hagel further confirms there’s no such thing as a pro-Israel Democrat.

To even begin arguing that Chuck Schumer is anti-Israel is asinine. His record on Israel support is unparalleled. He’s been a strong supporter of Israel ever since entering Congress way back in 1981. He wouldn’t have gotten the support he did from his constituents in NYC is he wasn’t.

He’s also a member of AIPAC, so if he’s anti-Israel, what exactly does that make AIPAC?

This is just another attempt to throw stuff up on the wall to see if it sticks.

And a reminder - that if a GOPer had nominated Hagel, these same people would be touting his comments about Israel as a streak of independence and that he’s a free thinker on defense matters - not as anti-Israel.

The United States risks losing its AAA credit rating from Fitch if any deal to raise the legal borrowing limit does not include a plan to put public finances on a more sustainable footing, the ratings agency said Tuesday.

Fitch Ratings’ expectation is that Congress will raise the debt ceiling and that the risk of a U.S. sovereign default remains extremely low. Nonetheless, and in line with our previous guidance, failure to raise the debt ceiling in a timely manner will prompt a formal review of the U.S. sovereign ratings.

On 31 December 2012, U.S. federal government debt reached the statutory debt limit of USD16.394trn and consequently the Treasury has begun to implement extraordinary measures that will create an estimated USD200bn of additional headroom under the debt ceiling. A repeat of the August 2011 ‘debt ceiling crisis’ would oblige Fitch to review its current assessment of the reliability and predictability of the institutional policy framework and prospects for reaching agreement on a credible medium-term deficit reduction plan.

That last sentence is what’s being misinterpreted. Fitch is saying if we have another debt ceiling crisis that goes up until the last minute, like on 2011, Fitch will need to review it’s assessment of the “prospects for reaching agreement on a credible medium-term deficit reduction plan.” They’re not saying the two should occur at the same time, just that the the former will make them question Congresses ability to get together, in the near future, on the latter. In the next paragraph they explicitly reject using the debt ceiling as leverage for austerity:

In Fitch’s opinion, the debt ceiling is an ineffective and potentially dangerous mechanism for enforcing fiscal discipline. It does not prevent tax and spending decisions that will incur debt issuance in excess of the ceiling while the sanction of not raising the ceiling risks a sovereign default and renders such a threat incredible.

The press release ends by giving the gov’t till later this year to put in place some form of medium-term debt reduction plan:

In the absence of an agreed and credible medium-term deficit reduction plan that would be consistent with sustaining the economic recovery and restoring confidence in the long-run sustainability of U.S. public finances, the current Negative Outlook on the ‘AAA’ rating is likely to be resolved with a downgrade later this year even if another debt ceiling crisis is averted.

So Fitch wants the ceilng raised promptly, without a repeated of the 2011 showdown, and they further warn against using the debt ceiling as a spending cut bargaining chit.

The new senator from Texas hasn’t a fucking clue what he’s talking about. Treasury already told Congress back in ‘11 that there is no way of getting around a default in the event that the debt limit isn’t raised. They have very limited ability to prioritize spending, no control over which debt payments are due on any given day, and would only be able to delay those payments for so long. If on any day, obligations exceed revenues, then the whole house of cards comes tumbling down.

The new senator from Texas hasn’t a fucking clue what he’s talking about. Treasury already told Congress back in ‘11 that there is no way of getting around a default in the event that the debt limit isn’t raised. They have very limited ability to prioritize spending, no control over which debt payments are due on any given day, and would only be able to delay those payments for so long. If on any day, obligations exceed revenues, then the whole house of cards comes tumbling down.

The blogosphere has exploded with outrage in response to news that Walmart is suspending ammunition sales in anticipation of the Obama administration’s gun-control recommendations to Congress – but the retail giant tells WND the reports aren’t true.

“That information is inaccurate,” said Ashley Hardie, a spokeswoman located at Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

WND then asked whether the retail chain is cutting back on orders of ammunition.

“No,” Hardie said. “We’re continuing to serve our customers as we have in the past.”

She said Walmart’s ammunition sales policy has not changed, even amid talk of gun-control legislation in Washington, D.C…

Being that this is from World Nut Daily maybe the TGDNers and Freepers will finally believe this is a stupid hoax.

Requiring the DOJ to prosecute all cases involving straw purchases or other federal firearms violations that aren’t currently prosecuted. These are already criminal laws on the books, but the DOJ hasn’t prioritized. The Administration could issue an executive order changing the priority.

To even begin arguing that Chuck Schumer is anti-Israel is asinine. His record on Israel support is unparalleled. He’s been a strong supporter of Israel ever since entering Congress way back in 1981. He wouldn’t have gotten the support he did from his constituents in NYC is he wasn’t.

He’s also a member of AIPAC, so if he’s anti-Israel, what exactly does that make AIPAC?

This is just another attempt to throw stuff up on the wall to see if it sticks.

And a reminder - that if a GOPer had nominated Hagel, these same people would be touting his comments about Israel as a streak of independence and that he’s a free thinker on defense matters - not as anti-Israel.

Schumer is of course very pro Israel. On this I suspect he was given a very rough ride by the President. Schumer’s support was needed. The GOP have been looking to Schumer to be the one to down the Hagel nomination and in light of this new statement of support I would expect him to be burned at the stake by the GOP

I was checking for ammo at local Walmarts online and they were out of stock on just about everything. Then I did some random checks around Dallas. Same thing. Just another dumb rumor from some UFO conspiracy nut.

I was checking for ammo at local Walmarts online and they were out of stock on just about everything. Then I did some random checks around Dallas. Same thing. Just another dumb rumor from some UFO conspiracy nut.

This here room used to be where the kids slept, but they’re on our floor now as we need the storage space for ammo.

Also, watching the GOP and the right smear a longtime GOP Senator like Hagel is just bizarre. WTF.

Nuking Palestine, Iran, and launching a crusade against the Muslims, has pretty much become the de-facto definition of “pro-Israel” as defined by neoconservatives. And, of course, “have you hated Hamas lately?”

On a Friday afternoon this past June, a new wave of pro-democracy demonstrations roiled downtown Cairo. Protestors were angry that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmad Shafiq, had advanced to the runoff in the country’s historic presidential election.

In the midst of the turmoil, a young activist with black-rimmed glasses, his fist raised skyward, led crowd in chants against the old regime. He was easy to spot, perched atop a comrade’s shoulders, and wearing a bright yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the image of the beloved yellow undersea creature of animated children’s television, SpongeBob Squarepants.

SpongeBob is a familiar sight in Tahrir Square nowadays. The vendors in the square hawking Egyptian flags and shirts printed with revolutionary slogans almost always also sell SpongeBob-branded T-shirts. The casual visitor to the square in early 2013 might even wonder if SpongeBob has become, like the ubiquitous Che Guevara shirts or the spooky Guy Fawkes masks made popular by the film V for Vendetta, a bizarre transnational pop culture symbol of resistance.

Shereif Elkeshta, an Egyptian-American filmmaker who travels frequently between New York and Cairo, said he first noticed the bright yellow shirts during a visit to the square last May, over a year after the revolution. “Suddenly it was no longer about hurriya [freedom] ath-thawra [the revolution] or 25th of January, it just became T-shirts, and SpongeBob, maybe it’s just the New Yorker in me, but SpongeBob? Do these people even know what SpongeBob is?”

Yes, because I hate the Brady Campaign so much I’m willing to slander them with a fake ad campaign poster comparing rape with murder or something. Fake but accurate based on complete and utter bullshit. That’s the ticket.

CAIRO — Nearly three years ago, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood delivered a speech urging Egyptians to “nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred” for Jews and Zionists. In a television interview around that time, the same leader described Zionists as “these bloodsuckers who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs.”

That leader, Mohamed Morsi, is now president of Egypt — and his comments may be coming back to haunt him.

Yeah, her interview this morning is leaving a lot with the impression that she wasn’t overall impressed with his interview and doesn’t endorse it. More than likely it was less tear-streaked breakdown and more straight-faced lawyerspeaker.

The Secret Service arrested a registered sex offender in Michigan after he allegedly made a racist death threat against President Barack Obama and threatened to blow up the FCC.

James Allen Myers, 37, called the offices of the National Geographic and the Federal Communications Commission and threatened the president because he was outraged by the ‘filthy sex and perversion’ that was allowed on television, according to federal charges filed against him on Thursday.

He allegedly called Obama a racial slur and said: ‘I’m gonna hang our… president from a tree outside the White House with a burning cross and a swastika on the lawn.’

Myers did not leave his name on the voice mail recording, but the Secret Service used the FCC’s caller ID to trace the phone calls - made December 9 and 10 from his home outside Detroit, the Detroit News reported.

Myers, who was convicted in 2001 of criminal sexual conduct, admitted to making the phone calls and said he was enraged over the sexual content he was on television.

When Secret Service agents showed up at the home Myers shares with his father, the elder Myers asked his son if he had ‘been making phone calls again.’

Yeah, her interview this morning is leaving a lot with the impression that she wasn’t overall impressed with his interview and doesn’t endorse it. More than likely it was less tear-streaked breakdown and more straight-faced lawyerspeaker.

She’s trying to make it the biggest thing since Frost/Nixon. The rest of the media are trying to help her. You know, they don’t have Nixon to kick around any more.

We are going to see more and this, threats and even acts of violence, and when the government does its job, namely by responding to these threats and actions, it will be held up as proof that they were out to do this all along, and that the FEMA reeducation camps are waiting for all of us.

When did everyone become so anti-entertainment. What did Oprah do wrong here? This isnt exactly news. Big sports star admits he cheated. ok. move along nothing to see here unless you were one of the people he destroyed or companies he represented. Both of whom likely have legal recourse at their disposal. Our interest is trivial. If you don’t want to support Oprah I suggest not watching. If you are interested in the issue or the celebrity watch the interview with some popcorn. I hardly think Oprah owes anyone anything on this.

It is the rule in war: If ten times the enemy’s strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them. — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

What’s the rule when the military you’re fighting against spends more than the next 17 countries combined and all you’ve got is an AR-15 and an NRA card?

These gun fetishists are in for a rude awakening the first time they try to open fire on the US military and law enforcement.

As I said last night, I do not like what a post-CW2 America looks like. Oh, I’m pretty sure the US government wins and the gun fanatics lose. Less so than last night because I’ve actually worked through some analysis, but still pretty sure. But here’s the thing: the thing that gives them a chance is the thing that makes this extremely nasty. There are no clear lines of demarcation. It’s a massive insurgency with full interpenetration.

Changes in laws, changes in what’s considered “acceptable”, all that mean that the end result will be the creation of the state the rebels claim to be opposing. Questions of governmental spying go away - wiretap laws get eviscerated. We get used to random assassinations of government (local and state as well as federal) officials and agents — and in response the missile attacks on small gatherings of people alleged to be rebels. Or in some cases, who just happen to be near Rebel #2 when the opportunity for a missile occurred.

I hate these people even more after thinking about it. They’ll lose, but the victory of the US will be pyrrhic.

We are going to see more and this, threats and even acts of violence, and when the government does its job, namely by responding to these threats and actions, it will be held up as proof that they were out to do this all along, and that the FEMA reeducation camps are waiting for all of us.

Threatening the President of the United States is a class D felony under United States Code Title 18, Section 871.[1] It consists of knowingly and willfully mailing or otherwise making “any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States”. The United States Secret Service investigates suspected violations of this law and monitors those who have a history of threatening the President.

Because the offense consists of pure speech, the courts have issued rulings attempting to balance the government’s interest in protecting the President with free speech rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. According to Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures, “Hundreds of celebrity howlers threaten the President of the United States every year, sometimes because they disagree with his policies, but more often just because he is the President.”[2]

The United States Attorneys’ Manual states that the Terrorism and Violent Crime Section has supervisory authority over Section 871 cases.[3]

…The first prosecutions under the statute, enacted in 1917, occurred during the highly charged, hyperpatriotic years of World War I, and the decisions handed down by the courts in these early cases reflected intolerance for any words demonstrating even a vague spirit of disloyalty.[8][9] There was a relative moratorium on prosecutions under this statute until the World War II era. The number increased during the turbulent Vietnam War era. They have tended to fall when the country has not been directly embroiled in a national crisis situation.[10]

The number of reported threats rose from 2,400 in 1965 to 12,800 in 1969.[11] According to some reports, President George W. Bush received about 3,000 threats a year, while his successor Barack Obama received about four times that many.[12] This figure has been disputed by Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, who says that Obama receives about as many threats as the previous two Presidents.[13]

According to the U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, “Media attention given to certain kinds of criminal activity seems to generate further criminal activity; this is especially true concerning Presidential threats which is well documented by data previously supplied by the United States Secret Service. For example, in the six-month period following the March 30, 1981, attempt on the life of President Reagan, the average number of threats against protectees of the Secret Service increased by over 150 percent from a similar period during the prior year.” For this reason, the agency recommends considering the use of sealed affidavits to keep news of threats from leaking to the press.[3]

O_o How do we get from Lance Armstrong to Iraq? No wait. I think I get it. Gah, I hate it when people attempt to be “clever” that way.

I read it as pointing out ridiculous double standards when it comes to unethical/criminal behavior. Think of punishments faced by sports figures for lying to congress vs anything remotely similar for oil execs, bankers, etc.

I read it as pointing out ridiculous double standards when it comes to unethical/criminal behavior. Think of punishments faced by sports figures for lying to congress vs anything remotely similar for oil execs, bankers, etc.

That’s how I read it and that’s why I find it annoying. Apples and oranges. No one wants to arrest Lance Armstrong. No one wants to send him to the ICC. We can’t just say “oil execs and bankers” should go to jail based on rhetoric. If they want those people to be prosecuted for something then they have to actually be charged with something besides a decree from YourAnonNews. It’s just silly.

This outrage over “Zero Dark Thirty” is getting old. Don’t like it, don’t see it. Sorry but we’re not going to create an “office of artistic purity” to censor movies to satisfy your sensitivities.

We see what happens when we neglect basic education. People do not gbegin to understand that fact-based fiction is still fiction. And stuff written by some 4,000-year-old Hebrew is not science, it is mythology.

We see what happens when we neglect basic education. People do not gbegin to understand that fact-based fiction is still fiction. And stuff written by some 4,000-year-old Hebrew is not science, it is mythology.

Oh, forget it, its pointless….

It’s interesting because these same people will say that movie violence doesn’t promote gun violence. Now they’re saying Zero Dark Thirty will “promote” torture?

When did everyone become so anti-entertainment. What did Oprah do wrong here? This isnt exactly news. Big sports star admits he cheated. ok. move along nothing to see here unless you were one of the people he destroyed or companies he represented. Both of whom likely have legal recourse at their disposal. Our interest is trivial. If you don’t want to support Oprah I suggest not watching. If you are interested in the issue or the celebrity watch the interview with some popcorn. I hardly think Oprah owes anyone anything on this.

I got nothin’ against Oprah, probably because I don’t have a TV. I’m just sayin’, BIG EGOS.

As Beck foresees it, Obama will initially accept some sort of compromise gun control legislation from Congress but then start complaining that it didn’t go far enough while waiting patiently for another high-profile gun crime to take place which he can then use as evidence that the compromise legislation was insufficient and thus provide justification for issuing an executive order banning and confiscating weapons.

At which point, Americans will have two choices: either to hole up in heavily armed compounds à la Waco and Ruby Ridge or to peacefully protest and resist. Beck prefers the latter because, as everyone knows, things Waco and Ruby Ridge just provide an opportunity for the government to kill its citizens while the media portrays the victims as a bunch of crazies:

Also have a typical response to this from a conservative on PJ. Note the psychology of conservatives. They’re like children, seeking approval from a parent by sucking up.

I think the situation is more analogous to a family that has a steady income, but decides to take out a new credit card to pay off the *minimum* required monthly payment on the old credit card, instead of cutting the cable TV.

But then, I don’t lean Progressive, so I can see the situation honestly, unlike Ben Bernanke and the overwhelming majority of journalists.

“As you know, I just got back from England,” Coulter explained. “On the gun crimes, we keep hearing how low they are in Europe and, ‘Oh, they’re so low and they have no guns.’ If you compare white populations, we have the same murder rate as Belgium.”

“So, perhaps, it’s not a gun problem, it is a demographic problem, which liberals are the one are pushing, pushing, pushing, ‘Let’s add more [African-American mass murderer] Colin Fergusons and more whoever the [Muslim] guy was who shot up Fort Hood.’ Why are they coming in to begin with?”

Coulter suggested that if President Barack Obama decided to use an executive order to ban high-capacity magazines then the next Republican president should respond by banning “abortionists and abortion clinics.”

A Kings Mountain man is in jail Tuesday after authorities said he called a Lincoln County warehouse claiming he’d placed explosives in the building.

But authorities say a sweep of the building found no explosives. And a worker at the facility says the suspect was an ex-boyfriend who had been trying to get her fired.

Lincoln County deputies arrested 29-year-old Chris Carl Lee at his home early Tuesday. He is charged with one felony count of making a false report of a bomb, and was being held in jail under a $100,000 secured bond.

Guns offer equal opportunity tragedies. More than 8,000 white Americans had to be treated for nonfatal gun injuries in 2008. Eighty percent of those who commit suicide with a gun are white males. The gun that the suburban family buys to protect itself from “thugs killing thugs” ends up killing its own: One important new study finds that a gun kept in the house is 43 times more likely to kill a household member than to be used in self-defense.

Not sure how he meant that, but conservatism is based on blaming all problems downward on the lower (hated) classes.

One can see the reason they don’t look UPWARD at government etc for solutions from what they learned from religion. In religion you are supposed to revere God, but you’d be a fool to expect prayer to actually solve any problems - so failure always has to be blamed downward never up.

A deaf man who was communicating with a friend using sign language was stabbed numerous times when his assailant mistook the signing for gang gestures.

Police said that 45-year-old Terrance Daniels, of Burlington, was communicating with a deaf friend on the street in Burlington, North Carolina, when defendant Robert Neal misunderstood his gestures and took them for a gang signal.

The 22-year-old man attacked Daniels with a kitchen knife, said police. Daniels was found on a grass verge with multiple wounds to his upper body.

A Kentucky sheriff who refused to enforce any new gun laws that he deemed unconstitutional says that the Second Amendment is “like the Bible” because “you either believe it or you don’t.”

In a recent interview with The Lexington Herald-Leader, Jackson County Sheriff Denny Peyman said that he had a “moral obligation” to defy any new executive orders from President Barack Obama or laws passed by Congress if they restricted the Constitutional right to bear arms.

“I swore an oath to the Constitution,” Peyman explained to Fox News host Greta Van Susteren on Monday. “And in the Constitution is the Second Amendment and that’s what this country is based upon. How can I rightfully in my own mind and in my heart come in and take guns away from people when that is their protection?”

This Sheriff is a fucking idiot who should be kept far away from actual law enforcement matters.

I have to admit I’m uncomfortable with the focus on mass shootings contrasted with the relative lack of attention of urban gun crime and gang related violence. The very young die in these gunfights with stray rounds far too often. And that is a concentration of the most powerful guns illegally held.

It’s not right to ignore the everyday tragedies that are a drip drip pace of death and go nuts over a mass shooting.

LOS ANGELES—A father and son have been sentenced to prison following convictions in a sweeping federal racketeering case in which prosecutors accused them as racist gang members who conspired to attack black people to force them out of a Southern California bedroom community.

Dozens of suspects were convicted in the case that marked the Justice Department’s first time combining civil rights statutes with racketeering and drug laws to take on racially motivated gang activity, federal prosecutors said.

Santiago Rios, 48, who authorities said was the leader of an Azusa gang that took orders from the prison-based Mexican Mafia, was sentenced Monday to nearly 20 years in prison. His son, Louis Rios, 22, got 10 years.

They had pleaded guilty to conspiring to attack black people in a campaign to push them out of the city some 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The father and son were among 49 others suspected of being Azusa gang members and arrested in 2011 on charges they conspired to target and harass black residents for a decade. All the defendants have been convicted, and eight are still awaiting sentencing.

I have to admit I’m uncomfortable with the focus on mass shootings contrasted with the relative lack of attention of urban gun crime and gang related violence. The very young die in these gunfights with stray rounds far too often. And that is a concentration of the most powerful guns illegally held.

It’s not right to ignore the everyday tragedies that are a drip drip pace of death and go nuts over a mass shooting.

The problem isn’t that we focus on mass shootings and ignore gang violence.

It’s that we ignore the gun accidents and homicides involving legal gun owners and pretend that those issues don’t exist.

Political theater. Reading is not comprehension. Clearly. Because you’ve got idiot GOPers threatening impeachment for the political idea of the President using his executive order power to tighten existing gun control laws. First Amendment and all that is out the window when it serves them and ignoring that the Second on its face indicates regulation is part of the framework.

And it also means that they can still delay voting on the Sandy aid package that has to be brought to the floor for a vote in the House. You know - like a more pressing matter to Sandy victims who are waiting more than 70+ days since the storm hit (as compared to 10 days for Katrina; 17 days for Gustav, and 31 days for Andrew).

I have to admit I’m uncomfortable with the focus on mass shootings contrasted with the relative lack of attention of urban gun crime and gang related violence. The very young die in these gunfights with stray rounds far too often. And that is a concentration of the most powerful guns illegally held.

It’s not right to ignore the everyday tragedies that are a drip drip pace of death and go nuts over a mass shooting.

It’s similar to the comparison to the reaction between an airliner crash and everyday car accidents.

Probably wrong, but I’m sure if called on it he’ll hairsplit the issue.

From the wikipedia page on the Whiskey Rebellion:

Liberty poles were raised in various places as the militia was recruited, worrying federal officials. A liberty pole was raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on September 11.[89] When the federalized militia arrived in that town later that month, suspected pole-raisers were rounded up. Two civilians were killed in these operations. On September 29, an unarmed boy was shot by an officer whose pistol accidentally fired. Two days later, a man was stabbed to death by a soldier while resisting arrest. President Washington ordered the arrest of the two soldiers and had them turned over to civilian authorities. A state judge determined the deaths had been accidental, and the soldiers were released.[90]

During a Tuesday interview with conservative talk show host Sandy Rios, Coburn insisted that only “stupid things” would be shut down if the the debt ceiling was not raised.

“We’re going to collect $200 billion a month if in fact the government were to not extend the debt limit,” he insisted. “Social Security would be paid, Medicare would be paid, the essentials would be paid; it’s the non-essentials that wouldn’t be paid, it’s the $250-300 billion a year in stupid things we do that we wouldn’t pay, it’s the programs that aren’t an absolute necessity that wouldn’t get funded, the things that would be a necessity would get funded.”

Another wonderful experiment to shut down stupid things would be for the GOP to shut the fuck up and let the President actually enact his ideas and plans.

Gingrich: “No one is going to default, but the president’s a bully for not letting us win.”

Former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says that House Republicans can’t win a fight to cut spending by holding the debt ceiling hostage because President Barack Obama is “going out of his way to bully” them.

“In the end it’s a threat they can’t sustain,” Gingrich told CBS on Tuesday. “No one is going to default, no one is going to allow the United States to not pay its bills, no one is going to accept the economic costs. It rallies the entire business community to the president’s side.”

Gingrich: “No one is going to default, but the president’s a bully for not letting us win.”

… “No one is going to default, no one is going to allow the United States to not pay its bills, no one is going to accept the economic costs. It rallies the entire business community to the president’s side.”

Tea Party Nation president Judson Phillips emailed members an article yesterday entitled, “What The F#@$ Is Up With Colin Powell?” by tea party activist John Wiseman that asks Powell’s family to “get his Alzheimer’s treated already.” He said Powell is “hypocritical” for criticizing intolerance in the Republican Party since he worked for several Republican administrations before he “began drinking the liberal kool aid.”

Judson Phillips: “The discourse coming from the political left for years has been nothing more than ad hominems, straw men, non sequiturs, and the lowest form of divisive class warfare.”

Let’s see Coburn experiment with that idea with his own creditors. I doubt they’d stand for his nonpayment of credit card bills or outstanding mortgage payments. They’d be on him in a jiffy. His credit rating would get dinged, and he’d eventually have to settle up. Even if he was doing so to try and get more favorable terms on his debt, he’d still get hit on a credit downgrade.

And while he could declare bankruptcy, the federal government has no such mechanism.

While the Trump hairpiece means something different, the Chinese so far are not selling entire cars in the USA … yet. They want to, though. For now, the Chinese manufacture some of the parts that make up a car.

Is Trump aware that several foreign automakers happen to build cars in the USA to sell in the USA? It’s a logical cost benefit — a business decision, which Trump as an alleged businessman should know.

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From Sen. Schumer's Facebook page: There are two simple reasons the comparison does not hold water. First, the federal RFRA was written narrowly to protect individuals' religious freedom from government interference unless the government or state had a compelling interest. ...

UPDATE MARCH 30: NEW TIME FOR LIVE STREAM - 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project will be flying a rocket-powered, saucer-shaped test vehicle into near-space from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on ...

What's this? Another article on Cracked about how incorrigibly tribal-minded us homo sapiens are? Well, yes. But the proverbial devil is in the proverbial details. Proverbially. It's still worth reading. That's what I'm getting at. Everyone is talking about Scientology ...

China attacks the biggest code repository in the world. After battling a distributed denial of service attack for four days, GitHub on Monday was able to restore normal service levels. The primary target of the assault is greatfire.org, which is ...

An American woman--presumably not Muslim, though she doesn't say one way or the other--married to a Libyan man is taken aback when her 9-year-old daughter suddenly wants to start wearing hijab. This is the story of how conflicted she felt ...

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Big Wall Street banks are so upset with U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren's call for them to be broken up that some have discussed withholding campaign donations to Senate Democrats in symbolic protest, ...

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a new challenge to President Barack Obama's healthcare law that took aim at a bureaucratic board labeled by some Republicans as a ...

Depending on the outcome of a hearing scheduled for Monday, a 33-year-old Indiana woman could face up to 70 years in prison for what she says was a miscarriage. Reproductive rights advocates say her case is a disturbing example ...

The number of things getting plugged into the "Internet of Things" has already reached the point of satire. But there's a new, extremely low power technology that's being prepared for market that could put computing power and network access ...

Are conservatives anti-science? Spoiler: Conservatives aren't anti-science or pro-science. But, they are pro-common-sense. And once more scientists adopt common sense approach to science, they'll find that they have the support of conservative politicians - the people whose job it is ...

cracked.com Once the fighting started, a lot of people died, well over a million on our side alone. For the war to continue, a constant stream of new fighters had to join up, and they didn't have the benefit of ...

Here is an interesting article on one of Tail Gunner Joe's sick witch hunts that has, unfortunately, been forgotten. I try not to feel schadenfreude of the fate of McCarthy's side kick, Ray Cohn, but I never succeed.

About the Graphic How should a woman try to get ahead in a male-dominated workplace? Perhaps the answer lies less on women "manning up" and more in how businesses value their employees. Many women confront this tension as they ...

If we accept the idea of Orthopraxy over Orthodoxy, then what does evangelism look like? What is the Witness of those who try to follow the Way of Christ Jesus? To evangelize is to spread the good news that we ...

A short column in The Nation that is a must read. The primary difference between liberalism and conservatism, at least in theory, is that the latter is an ideology and the former isn't. Conservatism, as Milton Friedman argued, posits that ...

Blow off Snowden all you like, but what was revealed to be true is still true. The NSA lacks oversight with power. FISA is already too much and now they casually exceed even that generous provision. The world first learned ...

This is a powerful admission of culpability and I applaud his courage in making it. It really should be read in its entirety. Glenn Ford should be completely compensated to every extent possible because of the flaws of a system ...

Sarah Vine of the DM gets it wrong: SARAH VINE: Teaching 11-year-olds about rape is a form of child abuse The problem with this country, I've come to realise, is that it treats adults like children and children like adults. ...